Yes, it’s possible to make cheesecakes without cream cheese! Technically, these cheesecakes are raw! I came up with the idea to make these raw mini cheesecakes after deciding I wasn’t in the mood to make a giant cheesecake.
Although, I didn’t use any frozen fruit in this recipe, I think these raw mini cheesecakes came out pretty tasty! This was an experiment I’ve been wanting to do for awhile after seeing so many beautiful raw cheesecakes on Instagram. I kept wondering how they were able to do it. I created a cashew cream made from coconut cream, coconut oil, date nectar, a 1/2 a Meyer lemon, and some date sugar.
Lastly, I want to mention that technically this recipe isn’t raw when you add the food coloring and sprinkles. I used Wilton’s Gel Food Coloring. Their ingredients aren’t the best, but it’s what I had on hand at the time. So sorry about this! If you want to add a colorful swirl to your cheesecakes and keep them raw, you can use frozen fruit, blend it, and then using a toothpick; create swirls! Additionally, there are also organic raw food coloring brands on the market. Let me know if you try any!
Noteworthy: I used the food coloring because it’s Christmas and I wanted it to be festive. This is not how I would serve these cheesecakes traditionally.
How to make raw mini cheesecakes:
The most important part of this cheesecake is the cashew cream. Due to the fact you need the cashews to be softened a bit, they need to soak for 24 hours. You allow them to soak for 24 hours because they’re easier to blend that way. Although, if you want to make these cheesecakes faster, boil some water and place the cashews in there immediately. Then, proceed to let the cashews soak for a few hours before using. This will cut back on the time tremendously.
Next, since cashews aren’t naturally “creamy”, you’re going to need to add a creamy element. To keep this recipe raw, I used coconut cream. If you don’t care about this recipe remaining raw, you can use mascarpone or yogurt.
After that, you probably want to sweeten the cheesecake mixture. To sweeten the mixture, I used date sugar instead of granulated sugar.
As far as the crust, I used nothing but raw almonds! Yep! I didn’t combine a variety of nuts. I didn’t use a variety of nuts due to the fact I don’t have a lot of them in the house right now. So, I added some almonds, medjool dates, and coconut nectar to the mixture. It’s very simple!
How to make cheesecake without cream cheese:
As I mentioned above, the core of a cheesecake is the creamy soft texture that you get from cream cheese. You’re going to have to mix something creamy with coconut oil or coconut butter. Coconut butter and coconut oil holds everything that it’s mixed with. Also, coconut butter/coconut oil works amazingly when it comes to making homemade chocolate syrup.
Another important part to making cheesecakes without cream cheese is that you will need to use oil in the recipes instead of butter. I don’t think the cheesecakes will taste as well as they do with the oil! I love the taste of coconut oil though, many may not share this same opinion.
While these raw mini cheesecakes do not taste similarly to traditional cheesecakes, they’re still delicious. If you want to make a cheesecake that tastes just like regular cheesecake without cream cheese and/or mascarpone, that’s close to impossible. You may almost be able to duplicate the taste, but you definitely will not be able to duplicate that texture. I haven’t came across one recipe that’s the exact same without cream cheese.
In conclusion, experiment with your recipes because that’s the only way you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. Anyone that has made a raw cheesecake will tell you that they kept experimenting until they found a method that works! Therefore, keep on trying and you’ll end up with a beautiful cheesecake in no time!
Want more recipes?:
- Maple Cranberry Muffins
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Babka
- Easy Egg-less Chocolate Cheesecake
- One Hour Cinnamon Rolls
Raw Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For The Crust:
- 2 cups Raw Unsalted Almonds
- 8 Medjool Dates, pitted and softened
- 1 tbsp Coconut Nectar
- 4 tbsp Ground Flax
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 tbsp Water
For the “cheesecake”
- 1 cup Raw Cashews, soaked
- 1 cup Water (for the cashews)
- 1 cup Coconut Cream
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp Date Nectar
- 1/2 Meyer Lemon
- 1 tsp Date Sugar
- Food coloring and sprinkles, optional
- Avocado Oil Cooking Spray, for spraying
Instructions
For The Cheesecake:
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Begin by adding 1 cup of cashews to a medium sized bowl with 1 cup of water. Allow these cashews to soak for 24 hours at room temperature OR boil some water and then add your cashews. Allow them to soak for 1-4 hours at room temperature.
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After allowing your cashews to soak, add your cashews to a high speed blender with all of the cheesecake ingredients EXCEPT the food coloring/sprinkles. Allow this mixture to blend until smooth.
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After allowing this mixture to blend, pour into the cupcake liners. You can fill all the way to the top if desired. Top with food coloring using toothpicks if desired. Freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.
For the Crust:
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Spray cupcake liners with avocado oil. Place into a 12 cup muffin pan.
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To a food processor, add 2 cups of almonds and blend until it turns into flour. Then add your dates (mine were already soft so I didn’t need to soak them, if your dates are hard then soak them for 1 hour), coconut nectar, ground flax, coconut water, and oil. Process until well combined. Then proceed to add them to cupcake liners. Using your hands, press the crust until it’s flattened inside the liners.
Notes
- CALORIES ARE WITHOUT THE FOOD COLORING. THE FOOD COLORING IS FOR PRESENTATION PURPOSES ONLY! The food coloring that I used is not the best quality or healthy!
- The calories here are not exact. It’s quite difficult to calculate the calories for this recipe because I didn’t measure how much I poured into each one.
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